Youth Activity-Travel Behavior withMobile Communications in Japan
Nobuaki OHMORIThe University of Tokyo, Japan
January 11, 2005
Implications of Information and Communications Technologies
for Travel Behavior of Teens:
What Does the Future Hold?

The 84th TRB Annual MeetingOutline• Mobile communications in Japan• My research interests• Case studies of two persons’communications– Meeting appointment and waiting behavior
using mobile phone– Communications behavior of young couples

Mobile Communications in Japan• Mobile phone has rapidly become widespread.
– Number of subscription of mobile phone is 94 million(penetration rate: 73%) in Nov. 2004.
– Number of subscription of mobile phone with Internet
access is 73 million (78%) in Nov. 2004.

• Mobile phone has so many functions: e-mail,Internet access, camera, listening to music, watchingmovie, playing game, TV phone, GPS, routenavigation, credit card, etc.
video
• Young people use mobile phone anytime andanywhere, also while traveling.

I like mobilephone! I know
how to use this.

Oh my god!
Don’t callanyone!

What I have been doing• Activity-based analysis of travel behavior
based on “space-time prism” constraints• Data collection of activity-travel
scheduling/patterns using positioning
technologies (GPS, GSM, etc.) and GIS• Telecommunications could be also ademand derived from the desire toparticipate in activities in “cyberspace”.

My Research Interests in
Telecommunications and Travel• To investigate the way telecommunication use affects
individual activity scheduling and travel behavior• To investigate the reason why activities are scheduled
and rescheduled (i.e. by one’s discretion or bycommunications)• To update the theory of “space-time accessibility” to“virtual accessibility” incorporating activities engagedin cyberspace, including activities while traveling• To investigate the relationships between real/virtualaccessibility and activity-travel behavior

Extending the Concept ofAccessibility• Space accessibility– The ease to access to destination in spacedimension• Space-time accessibility– The ease to participate in activities in space andtime• Virtual accessibility– The ease to participate in activities in space andtime and cyberspaceVirtual Accessibility• Virtual accessibility: A = f (ck, ak, tk)
ck :cost for participating in activities at opportunity k(including travel cost)• Telecommunication cost, device literacy, etc.

ak :attractiveness of opportunity k• The partner, contents of information obtained, etc.

tk :available time at opportunity k• Available time for telecommunications– Introducing space-time constraints in real space
where telecommunications device is available

Activity Schedule and Space-Time Path
Including Telecommunications
time

Activity (a)Activity (b)Activity (c)E-mailTelecommunication
Telephone

Telephone

E-mailTravelReal space

Cyber spacespaceData to be Collected to Analyze Activity
Scheduling Behavior with Telecommunications• Activity diary with pre-planned activities andspace-time constraints– activity type, start/end time, location,accompanied persons, travel mode

• Telecommunications diary– time, send/receipt, the contents, the partner,
medium, the way it affects an activity scheduling(addition, deletion or modification of activities)• Travel trajectory– by GPS, GSM, etc.

time
time
time

t3

t2

t1
Real space
space
Real

Cyber space
space
Cyber

Dynamic Change of One Day Activity Schedule by Telecommunications

timetimet2

t1
Real space

Cyber spacetime

Real spaceCyber space

Real space

Cyber space

timet3

Real space

Cyber space

Case Studies ofTwo Persons’ Communications• Meeting appointment and waiting behavior
using mobile phone• Communications behavior of young couples

Case Study 1: Meeting Appointment
and Waiting Behavior• Background and research questions– Dramatic change in “meeting behavior”– How should we evaluate “waiting spaces” incities?

• Objective– To investigate the way of making an meeting
appointment and waiting behavior of young
people using mobile phoneChange in Waiting Behavior Before andAfter the Introduction of Mobile PhoneTime window which they cancommunicate with each othertime
So angry!
Changemeeting
tend
Notworried
So happy!
Bad activity!
locationandabout
whenWorried about
Good activity!
B timewill arrive
when B will arrive

Phone calltime
tend

t3
t1

t4
t5
t1

t2

t2

t0

t0
B space×AX

AX Y

B spaceMeeting Appointment andWaiting Behavior• Survey– January 2004: on-site interviewing survey– 87 young couples who made an appointment tomeet at or around the Shinjuku railway stationin Tokyo• Data– Activity and telecommunications diary frommaking the appointment to actual meeting

Conclusions of Case Study 1• Mobile phones have provided the option ofcommunicating changes in meeting location andtime to the partner.
• Waiting behavior vary depending on the timing toknow the partner’s late arrival.
• People do activities while waiting for the partnerand more than half of them do activities not at thepre-planned waiting spot but at shops around thespot.

Conclusions of Case Study 1 (contd.)• When knowing the partner’s late arrival and theexpected waiting time will increase, individual
characteristics and the length of the expectedwaiting time affect activity choice while waiting.
• The results suggest that evaluation method ofwaiting spaces should be reconsidered, because
people’s waiting behavior has dramaticallychanged.

Case Study 2: Communications
Behavior of Young Couples• Background and research questions– Are young couples, who cannot meet frequently
but can telecommunicate, satisfied with theircommunications?
– How can we prevent decrease in the number ofchildren?

• Objective– To investigate interaction between face-to-facemeeting and telecommunications of young
couples (substitution or complementation?)time
Space-time where twopersons can meet

Individual X

Individual Yspace

Meetingtime
Time when two persons cancommunicate with each otherIndividual X

Cyber space

Individual Yspace

Cyber space

Individual Y

space

Telephonetime
Time when Individual A can use
telecommunication

Time when Individual B can use
telecommunication

Individual X

E-mailCommunications Behavior ofYoung Couples• Survey– In Nov. to Dec. 2003 (4 weeks): paper-based questionnaire
survey and the subsequent depth interview survey– 15 young couples living in Tokyo (4 of them live together)• Data– Activity diary with pre-planned activities and satisfactionlevel– Telecommunications diary ((mobile) phone and (mobile)e-mail)– Activity locations in GIS– Attitude toward their communications

★ his activity location

his home
his office

05Kilometers10

★ his activity location● her activity location

her office

his home
his office

her home
05Kilometers

10Frequency of Mobile Communications and the Partner
Mobile phone

Mobile e-mailAve. Max. Min. Ave. Max. Min.
Frequency(/day)

1.7 3.5 0.1 14.9 34.6 1.8
Live
separately % withboyfriend/ 48% 81% 16% 53% 91% 16%(N=22)
Livetogether(N=8)

girlfriend
Frequency(/day)

0.7

3.5% withboyfriend/ 60% 86%
girlfriend

3.9 34.6

0.1

9% 43% 91%

6%0.1

Future Analyses of Case Study 2(if possible)• Relationships between the amount of face-to-facemeeting and the amount of telecommunications• Activity locations of each base stations (home andwork) and of meeting together• Relationships between communications andreal/virtual accessibility• Relationships between communications andsatisfaction level of daily life

Future Research to be Addressed• Telecommunications and activity-travel analysis– What kind of behavior is important?
– How can we model dynamic scheduling behavior?

• Data collection– What kind of survey method should we apply for obtaining
information about detailed and wide variety oftelecommunication use which affect activity scheduling?
– How can we prepare database of opportunities in cyberspace?

• How will cities change and what kind of cities should weaim at in the future?

Thank you for your attention!
Welcome your comments!

I thank to the collaborators, Mr. Takayuki
Hirano for “Waiting Behavior” and Ms.
Yukari Niwa for “CoupleCommunications.”